Bad times come again no more

Planned Parenthood is the perfect place for people to pray for the end of abortion["Anti-choice crowd camps out at clinic," Government News, October 9, 2007], because that’s what Planned Parenthood is all about! Access to accurate information and general health care, as well as contraception are how Planned Parenthood works to reduce the need for abortion. The "pro-life" picketers may not realize that if their prayers were answered and Planned Parenthood disappeared, there would be so many more abortions—the unsafe, illegal type of the "bad old days." Supporters of Planned Parenthood will rejoice when every child is welcomed into a loving home. Until then, abortion should be safe, legal and RARE. Please keep this in mind when you go to the polls next month.

Cali GastonEarlysville

City spin

You have managed to print a story from which readers will come away less informed than had they not read it. Contrary to what is suggested by your article "Council makes final step toward MCP" [Government News, October 9, 2007], City Council still has full control over the transfer of the parkland and the building of the road, as it is Council alone which determines when and if its conditions for construction have been met. In fact, this recent vote Council made has dramatically reduced the chance that the Meadowcreek Parkway will ever foul our fair city. By explicitly stating that the road cannot be built with an at-grade intersection, Council will not successfully be able to claim the Parkway and the federally funded interchange are separate projects, which is the stance they have been taking in order to try and get the U.S dollars without all those pesky federal environmental laws getting all over the Parkway.

For two of the councilors at least, this was not a "vote in favor of moving forward toward its (the MCP’s) construction." Mr. Lynch and Mr. Norris did well to insist on this affirmation of the terms, as Mayor Brown has apparently forgotten that there are any.

Why did Mayor Brown unilaterally call for this consideration of giving up our parkland before the Charlottesville’s conditions had been met? During the meeting, in a rare moment of candor, he labeled the Eastern Connector (supposedly part of the deal for the Parkway) as "somewhat feasible." Why should he expect the county to hold up its part of the bargain now when they didn’t with the 29 Bypass?

The city’s website and e-mail declared that evening as one of two public hearings on the matter. Oops!, turns out that was a "mistake." Hope you weren’t planning on being heard next time, ’cause the Mayor wants to vote tonight. Fortunately, in his haste (always, preceding an election there is some sneaky, boneheaded attempt to seal the deal on the Parkway), Mr. Brown allowed for language that may well sink the ship.

In the future, I hope your reporters will seek a wider pool of sources, and thus not fall prey to unwittingly repeating the hypnotic spin of the sprawl industrialists. City Council candidate Peter Kleeman would be a fine source of information for any of your transportation questions, as well as an excellent replacement for our current mayor come November 6th.

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